Thread: is this formal letter OK?

Rafaela, 15 March 2009

VOLKART HOLDING
Dear Sir,

My husband and daughter travelled to Niederglatt, Switzerland last year, hoping to find descendents of Heinrich Volkart (16/03/1860-15/07/1934), a Swiss man that arrived in Argentina around 1870 and started my family.

Although they do not speak German, they managed to meet Mr. Edwin Dünki who, as a hobby, traces genealogy. They gave him all the information I had gathered about Heinrich’s arrival to my country and the springing of the Volkart family.

He gladly offered himself to go to Zürich and try to find Heinrich’s siblings, so we could know what happened to the rest of his family. He also gave my husband two books about the history of Niederglatt (“Ein Haus und Seine Bewohner” and “Von der Müle bis zum Tanzlokal”). In the second one, in pages 11 and 13, it mentions a brother of Salomon Volkart, Heinrich that immigrated to South America, and was never heard of again.

Surfing the Internet I found many websites which contained information about the history of “Volkart Brothers”, which immigrated to India, settled there and started one of the most important family enterprises in the country.

I am sure that is the story you know. But another story took place in Argentina, when Heinrich Volkart rooted in 1869 in San Carlos Sud. At that time the national government promoted immigration by offering benefits to foreigners, one of them being lower land prices. That way, many Italian, Spanish and Swiss men were able to work in terrains bought to Mr. Lehmann sowing soy and other crops.

Many local historians name the participation of Heinrich and his children in institutions of the recent colony such as the choir “Harmonie”, the school that taught German and the protestant temple.

My husband has been working on my family tree for quite some time now; I would gladly e-mail it to anyone interested.

After telling you the story of the first ancestor of mine that arrived in Argentina I would also like to tell you that I have a strong desire to get in touch with descendents of the “Volkart brothers” who, despite having chosen such a different destiny from Heinrich’s, knew how to pass family values on to their children.


Yours faithfully,


Ingrid Volkart.


Corrections welcomed

Hi Madgelina,

Here are the changes I would make, with the text in red. Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by Madgelina

Rafaela, 15 March 2009

VOLKART HOLDING
Dear Sir,

My husband and daughter travelled to Niederglatt, Switzerland last year, hoping to find descendents of Heinrich Volkart (16/03/1860-15/07/1934), a Swiss man that arrived in Argentina around 1870 and started my family.

Although they do not speak German, they managed to meet Mr. Edwin Dünki who, as a hobby, traces genealogy. They gave him all the information I had gathered about Heinrich’s arrival to my country and the establishment of the Volkart family.

He gladly offered to go to Zürich and try to find Heinrich’s siblings, so we could find out what happened to the rest of his family. He also gave my husband two books about the history of Niederglatt (“Ein Haus und Seine Bewohner” and “Von der Müle bis zum Tanzlokal”). In the second one, on pages 11 and 13, it mentions a brother of Salomon Volkart, Heinrich, that immigrated to South America and was never heard from again.

Surfing the Internet I found many websites which contained information about the history of “Volkart Brothers”, who immigrated to India, settled there and started one of the most important family enterprises in the country.

I am sure that is the story you know. But another story took place in Argentina, when Heinrich Volkart began in 1869 in San Carlos Sud. At that time the national government promoted immigration by offering benefits to foreigners, one of them being lower land prices. That way, many Italian, Spanish and Swiss men were able to work on lands bought by Mr. Lehmann, sowing soy and other crops.

Many local historians cite the participation of Heinrich and his children in institutions of the nascent colony such as the choir “Harmonie”, the school that taught German and the Protestant church.

My husband has been working on my family tree for quite some time now; I would gladly e-mail it to anyone interested.

After telling you the story of the first ancestor of mine that arrived in Argentina I would also like to tell you that I have a strong desire to get in touch with descendants of the “Volkart brothers” who, despite having chosen such a different destiny from Heinrich’s, were able to pass their family values on to their children.


Yours faithfully,


Ingrid Volkart.


Corrections welcomed

I would be happy to provide corrections if I had any, but that sounds just fine to me like that.

Hello,
I came across your post on the english-spanish-translator site quite by accident when I Googled 'Volkart'. I needed a little more information about the Volkart Brothers because I am posting on ebay a copy of:

The Volkart Brothers 1851 - 1926: In Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the founding
by George Reinhart
Published in Winterhur, 1st February 1926

You probably have your own copy but, if not, it will be on ebay uk from this weekend. If you want to contact me my email address is [email protected]
I only registered with the english-spanish-translator site because I picked up your message!

I hope this is of interest to you.
Regards,
Susan Hawkes